Flattening the Curve

I spent most of today in a hospital waiting for someone in surgery. COVID-19 was an undercurrent to most activities (the TVs everywhere with news and talk shows didn't help), but for the most part, the staff and everyone seemed pretty normal, not a ton of extra precautions were noticeable.

While I was there, a "containment area" was established in a 1-mile area in New York state to help contain the spread of the virus. The New York National Guard will be deployed to help deliver food to people quarantined there and to clean public spaces in the area. A first death was reported in a nearby state, and they and several other states have issued a State of Emergency - not that there is an "emergency" taking place, but this designation just unlocks different funding and abilities for them.

After discussing with the head of my site at work, we learned that the student business program we host there can no longer be held due to the new restrictions around gatherings and hosting visitors. So we are looking into alternate options, but in the meantime, the national organization that runs the program may have some other updates, so we're not making any updated plans just yet. We met with the students over the phone tonight to brainstorm a couple paths forward so we can try to finish the program.

I posted on Facebook today about "flattening the curve" - this term (and diagram) has been used a lot in the coverage I've been seeing today. All the cancellations and measures being taken right now may seem extreme, but the goal is to slow and control the spread of disease, so we don't overwhelm our medical system and resources.

Source: World Economic Forum

Even if you are not personally worried about yourself catching the virus, by minimizing its spread you can help protect those who aren't as young and robust as you. Things have been cancelled in the past due to extenuating circumstances - Olympics were cancelled during wars, schools close during military occupations. Maybe your plans will change this year. I personally have some trips planned that I don't think I'll be taking, and activities that may not have their official conclusion. If we all do our part to help get over this hump, we can hopefully get back to normal. It's not political, it's not an attack, and it's not fake.